India should produce 33% of the world's milk by 2033-34 - Amit Shah

Amit Shah attended the 49th Dairy Industry Conference organized by the Indian Dairy Association (IDA) as the chief guest at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Several dignitaries, including the chief minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, were present on the occasion.

In his address, Amit Shah shares that dairy is a business for the world but in a country like India, with a population of 130 crores, it is a source of employment, an alternative to strengthen the rural economy, a solution to the problems of malnutrition and a sector of immense potential for women empowerment. He said that since India's independence, if we look at the development of the dairy industry, then it is evident that the dairy sector has aptly linked all these aspects with the development of the country. Shah said, "The Cooperative Dairy, which worked for the prosperity of the farmers, has a huge contribution to this. Cooperative dairy has paved the path for making the country's poor women farmers self-reliant. In the 75th year of independence, prime minister Narendra Modi formed the Ministry of Cooperation to fulfill the mantra of Sahkar se Samridhi," Shah adds.

The union home minister and minister of cooperation mentioned that Indian Dairy Association was established soon after independence in 1948, and IDA has been instrumental in the development of the dairy sector in the country. He said, "An attempt has been made at this conference to have a comprehensive discussion to make India's dairy sector the strongest in the world. Our dairy and animal husbandry sector contributes 4.5% to the country's GDP, and the contribution of the dairy sector to the agriculture sector is 24%, which is valued at around Rs 10 Lakh crore and is the highest in the world. Dairy is a strong part of our economy, and in terms of employment, about 45 crore people from nine crore rural households, especially marginal farmers and women, are directly associated with the dairy sector."

Shah also said, "Our dairy sector has progressed at an annual rate of 6.6% in the last decade. The Ministry of Cooperation, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), and the Department of Animal Husbandry formed by Narendra Modi will establish rural dairies in two lakh panchayats in the country, and then the growth rate of the dairy sector will reach 13.80%. Our milk processing capacity is about 126 million liters per day, which is the highest in the world. We process 22% of our total milk production, which benefits the farmer in the form of increased income. The export of dairy products, also products like milk powder, butter, and ghee, have a major share, and there is immense potential in this. The Government led by Modi has formed a Multistate Cooperative Society for exports, and by connecting it with these two lakh rural dairies, there is a possibility of increasing exports by five times."

He further added, "Looking at the dairy scenario of the world, in 1970, India produced about six crore liters of milk per day, and it was a milk-deficient country. This production has increased to 58 Crore liters per day in 2022, and the dairy sector has played a huge role in it. From 1970 to 2022, India's population has increased four times, whereas milk production has increased more than ten times. The per capita consumption of milk in the country was 107 grams in 1970 and today, it has increased to 427 grams per capita, which is more than the world average of 300 grams. The Government led by Modi will not waste any opportunity for the development of the dairy sector, and all efforts are being made so that India emerges as the largest milk exporter in the world."

Shah said that there is a need for White Revolution-2 in the country today, and we are moving forward in this direction under the leadership of Modi. The cooperative model in the dairy sector touches all aspects, including income, nutrition, livestock care, protecting human interest, employment, and women empowerment. By eliminating the middlemen between the farmer and the consumer in the entire system, the cooperative model provides maximum profit to the farmer. The Government, under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi, is making efforts to strengthen the cooperative model in the dairy sector.

Shah also adds, "Today India's share in milk production has gone up to 21%, and the Amul model has contributed a lot to this. The Government led by Modi is making every possible effort for 360-degree development of the dairy sector in India. After the formation of two lakh primary milk production societies in the country, 33% of the world's milk production is likely to happen in India, and for this, the Government under the leadership of Modi, State Governments, and the Cooperative Movement will have to work together. India should become the world's largest market in the field of milk production as well as milk processing equipment. We have to move forward with the goal that by the year 2033-34, India should produce 33% of the world's milk, with about 330 MMT of milk production every year."